Known in the art is a molding machine which injects a molding material into a mold, then uses pushing pins to push against the molding material in the mold (PLT 1). By using pushing pins to a local pushing operation against the material, for example, a shrinkage cavity or other cavity which is generated along with solidification and shrinkage of the molding material can be reduced. PLT 1 discloses to drive the pushing pins by a servo motor, to use pressure feedback control along a time axis to control the servo motor, to determine the pushing start timing with reference to various parameters, and so on.
PLT 2 proposes use of ejector pins in place of pushing pins. The ejector pins are for peeling off a shaped article from a mold after a molding material is solidified in the mold and the shaped article is formed. They are driven so as to protrude from the inner surface of the mold at the time of opening or after opening. By utilizing such ejector pins as pushing pins, for example, it becomes possible to perform a local pushing operation against a material even in a case where it is difficult to secure the pushing pins and their driving mechanism on the back surface of the mold.